Antique shops

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I was getting ready to go out to some antique shops. In thinking about which to go to, I thought of two areas where there used to be clusters of antique sellers and it was pleasant to walk from one to the other, plus the second hand bookstores were in those blocks.

Now quite a few of them are gone. Out of business? Moved elsewhere? Moved into one of those antique malls? Bought out by another dealer?
I'm not sure.

Are antique shops known to be high failure rate businesses? Has e-bay done them in? Or are they still there, just on ebay only?

[disneysteve]

The internet, and ebay specifically, totally changed the face of antique and collectibles dealing. I have been a collectibles dealer since 1986. I started with a small (couple of pages) mail-order catalog. That gradually grew into a 40-50 page catalog. I first got online in 1994 and started posting ads on newsgroups. Then I set up my own website. Throughout that time period, I also sold in-person at various collectibles shows from NY to VA.

Then in May 1997, 11 years ago, I was introduced to ebay by a fellow collector. Within a couple of years, I was selling exclusively on ebay making 20 times as much as I had made with my paper catalog and tables at shows with far less work and lower overhead. Little by little, the shows died out. Not a single one that I used to work at still exists today.

The internet gives us a worldwide audience. At a busy show, in 6 hours my items would be seen by hundreds of customers. Online, my items are seen by millions. I've made sales to virtually every developed country in the world and every state in the US. And I'm just a regular guy who does this on the side. For someone whose livelihood depends on their sales, there is no better way to go than online sales. The days of maintaining a shop and sitting around hoping the right person stops in who just happens to be looking for what you've got are long gone.

[ParsnipsRhubarbCelery]

I'm in an area where there are lots of really neat antique shops, so I wonder if it depends on the area or not?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by ParsnipsRhubarbCelery

I'm in an area where there are lots of really neat antique shops, so I wonder if it depends on the area or not?

Go in and ask those shop owners how many of them are also selling items online and what percentage of their sales come from online vs. from the shop. You will likely find that most or all of them are active online and get a big chunk of their sales that way.

Some items, particularly furniture and jewelry, do well in person. Furniture is too costly and difficult to ship and people really want to examine jewelry. But most everything else probably gets listed online.

[rob62521]

I was going to say that one of our successful antique shop owners also sells on-line. And he has a full-time job besides running the shop with his wife.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by rob62521

And he has a full-time job besides running the shop with his wife.

Another good point. Many shop owners aren't doing it for a living. They are doing it as a hobby because they love antiques. But the real money today is online.

I sell online but I really, really miss the shows. I used to be friendly with dealers from all over the world. Now I sit in my basement and my computer room and never see anyone. It takes a lot of the fun out of it.

[LuxLiving]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I sell online but I really, really miss the shows. I used to be friendly with dealers from all over the world. Now I sit in my basement and my computer room and never see anyone. It takes a lot of the fun out of it.

Yeah, but some of us introverts like never seeing anyone!!